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Opening up the seal of approval
The ISO will, like many other things, boost the professionalism of the industry, even if at the moment it is only a few firms that are involved with it
First, ISO 22222 is a cracking assessed standard. To achieve the standard an adviser or planner needs to demonstrate his competence in the six stage financial planning process, a commitment to ethical behaviour and that he has appropriate continuous personal development and experience. In assessing competence a planner must also demonstrate knowledge at QCA Level 4.
Second, the FSA’s interim RDR statement has confirmed that in the future advisers will have to have a QCA Level 4 qualification. This means the CII's Diploma or equivalent. However, the interim statement does mention that the FSA might consider some form of 'on the job' assessment instead. When I first read this I must confess I was slightly nervous. My experience of assessment methods - ranging from NVQs to degrees - was that they were not often reliable unless the knowledge component was assessed by examination. However if by 'on the job assessment' the FSA was suggesting the ISO was used I would have no such worries. Of course, the ISO does require QCA Level 4 knowledge but I believe that for experienced advisers it would be possible for the ISO to incorporate a shorter knowledge requirement - for example, two composite papers instead of the four to six that would usually be required for the full diploma.
The ISO could therefore give some experienced advisers an alternative to having to complete the full diploma. However, while I understand the British Standards Institute committee is willing to consider this fast-rack approach it will be neither easy or cheap for the adviser. Although the award will be by assessment, the same standard will have to be met and the 'composite' papers will be no less tough - there would just be less of them. In addition, this type of assessment is not cheap.
My guess is that the biggest gain will come to those firms who decide to adopt the ISO for all their staff, as the competences required for the ISO are a good measurement tool.
Peter Williams is head of indsutry development for Aegon UK
